It's definitely interesting to see that this time around there's several major organisations who see the truth: .50 is great for rentals even if it doesn't make sense for tournaments. I'm sure GI will be a little humbler when it comes to their performance claims this time around since they're responsible for killing it the first time.

This could well mean that both Kee and Tippmann have .50 cal rental systems on the way to market. We might even see something this week what with PBE being on.

The growth in magfed they also mention has probably been more obvious of late, but I don't need to say that magfed + .50 works very well from a magazine capacity and marker design perspective.

With Kee's purchase of Kingman they already have a .50cal gun.
Will they do further development? I'm sure they will. From what I have seen in the last year or so .50 is growing much faster than .68 and this is where these companies will be looking to for their future growth. In my opinion a strong .50cal market will lead to a strong .68cal market.

It's definitely interesting to see that this time around there's several major organisations who see the truth: .50 is great for rentals even if it doesn't make sense for tournaments. I'm sure GI will be a little humbler when it comes to their performance claims this time around since they're responsible for killing it the first time.

This could well mean that both Kee and Tippmann have .50 cal rental systems on the way to market. We might even see something this week what with PBE being on.

The growth in magfed they also mention has probably been more obvious of late, but I don't need to say that magfed + .50 works very well from a magazine capacity and marker design perspective.

I believe GOG is supposed to have 50 cal eMNeys at Paintball Extravaganza as well for pre-order and KEE is revamping the Opus to make it a more reliable rental option. I'm majorly looking forward to what become available in the near future.

GI was into 50cal very early in the "rebirth" of 50cal - before Kingman and before KEEs splatmasters. I'm not surprised that they're using Tippmann as an outlet for 50, maybe KEE will do the same with Kingman.

GI was into 50cal very early in the "rebirth" of 50cal - before Kingman and before KEEs splatmasters. I'm not surprised that they're using Tippmann as an outlet for 50, maybe KEE will do the same with Kingman.

The problem with GIs and GOGs initial approach was that they talked about the wrong good things of 50 Cal. They talked about how much more paint you could carry and how much cheaper it was, and tried to vamp it up for tournament players, as a replacement for 68Caliber. Now they figured out there is a market for 50 Cal, and it is to help grow the sport for any players who want to play paintball without the pain of regular 68 caliber paintball. This doesn't only apply to younger players, but also teenagers and adults who don't want to be left with the welts and bruises that some 68 caliber play creates. Creating a marker that was not a .50 cal rental marker was the wrong start. That is the market for .50 cal. By the time the player has played enough to own his own marker, he or she should be experienced and "tough" enough to play .68

The problem with GIs and GOGs initial approach was that they talked about the wrong good things of 50 Cal. They talked about how much more paint you could carry and how much cheaper it was, and tried to vamp it up for tournament players, as a replacement for 68Caliber. Now they figured out there is a market for 50 Cal, and it is to help grow the sport for any players who want to play paintball without the pain of regular 68 caliber paintball. This doesn't only apply to younger players, but also teenagers and adults who don't want to be left with the welts and bruises that some 68 caliber play creates. Creating a marker that was not a .50 cal rental marker was the wrong start. That is the market for .50 cal. By the time the player has played enough to own his own marker, he or she should be experienced and "tough" enough to play .68

You pretty much nailed it on the head.

I think there will also be a market in the magfed genre, especially once fields start having 50 cal available as a staple due to having 50 cal rental options.

With Kee's purchase of Kingman they already have a .50cal gun.
Will they do further development? I'm sure they will. From what I have seen in the last year or so .50 is growing much faster than .68 and this is where these companies will be looking to for their future growth. In my opinion a strong .50cal market will lead to a strong .68cal market.

I agree with you. 50 cal may get more popular as an option at field now that tippman and gi may make 50 call a possibility

Guys remember that there are fields that have been running and promoting 50 caliber games for a couple years with great success even before Splatmaster. Kee & Tippmann (mainly because of the GI acquisition) realize that this is a very viable market and see that it can be the start of many new products to grow the sport and expand product lines.
I believe that 50 caliber will become more popular as fields start to use it more for rental groups. A couple of things will happen, Players that have never played paintball will start out much like the 68 caliber crowd did, Rent gear a couple time, then they will decide that they will want their own gear, once that happens, A retail market for 50 caliber will start to emerge and then it will become more mainstream and not just a rental market.
We have been doing 50 caliber conversion kits for a while now and its amazing how many fields are starting to offer 50 cal as a low impact option as well as expand paintball into other markets (the haunt industry).

You were right and wrong. You were right, Tippmann just announced a .50 cal marker!

You were wrong thinking GI just jumped into the .50 game. They were one of the original companies promoting .50 back in like 2008 or 2009.

GI had ties with Smart Parts (before SP went bankrupt at the end of 2009), and had .50 versions of the 09 impulse, and the Luxe (Luxe was affiliated with Smart Parts at the time). They also has a couple other .50 markers.

I wouldn't call it a "relaunch" - the original .50cal was pretty much on the fringe; very shortlived.

The PCS/PMI 55/50cal series in the early/mid 2000s was a flop.

The GI Milsim 50cal launch in the late 2000s was a flop.

43cal still hangs in there with the tactical training crowd, but Kingman proved it's not viable paintball.

So far the ONLY 50cal product that has taken off seems to be Splatmaster, which is basically sticky airsoft, and even then only for rental use or backyard setups. The advantages of that system go beyond caliber; it's mostly low cleanup effort needed, low maintenance (no tanks, no loaders, no leaking, few moving parts, cheap to replace, etc), and kid appeal from the low ROF, velocity and perceived realism. This new Tippmann product ignores the elements of Splatmaster which make it successful.

As soon as anyone has a good dependable 50 cal marker that is not a cheap spyder (perhaps redundant) I'll buy 200 of them. No desire to have splatmaster plastic guns that shoot a dozen balls. My customers want paintball but with less sting. That will be a 50cal FT or a Gog 50 or something... at my field. And the first one to get it ready will get an order for a few hundred of them from me. Can't wait.

First off, sell the .50 paint cheaper. Design the shell so it can break at further distances.

For youths lower marker velocities, and for adults...higher velocities.

This would over a period of time overtake .68, even tourneys may switch.

What difference if it is .50 or .68? If it breaks at long distances like a .68, and players can carry more paint and it is actually "CHEAPER", then maybe it can evolve. But unfortunate manufacturers and dealers are greedy and will sell it at .68 prices.

What difference if it is .50 or .68? If it breaks at long distances like a .68, and players can carry more paint and it is actually "CHEAPER", then maybe it can evolve. But unfortunate manufacturers and dealers are greedy and will sell it at .68 prices.

I don't know what other field owners and stores are getting their paintballs for, but my cost on 50 cal paintballs is exactly the same as 68 cal paintballs, so yes, I sell them for the same price as well. But even though my 50 cal prices are exactly the same as my 68 cal prices, I'm getting more people calling and wanting to book 50 cal games then 68 cal games.

I don't know what other field owners and stores are getting their paintballs for, but my cost on 50 cal paintballs is exactly the same as 68 cal paintballs, so yes, I sell them for the same price as well. But even though my 50 cal prices are exactly the same as my 68 cal prices, I'm getting more people calling and wanting to book 50 cal games then 68 cal games.

Renters are that aware about the .50 and .68 differences to ask for .50? Renters should be ask for better goggles with thermo lens than the scratched up junk ones you rent out.

If .50 was cheaper, field owners would still charge at the .68 pricing. The benefit is .50 would hurt less so renters would be willing to pay more????

Renters are that aware about the .50 and .68 differences to ask for .50? Renters should be ask for better goggles with thermo lens than the scratched up junk ones you rent out.

Yes, we explain the difference on the website and after a little more than half a year of doing our Low Impact (50 cal) we've had enough people take part that word of mouth is also a big factor. So yes, they know enough to ask for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilentBall55

If .50 was cheaper, field owners would still charge at the .68 pricing. The benefit is .50 would hurt less so renters would be willing to pay more????

I only know of one field that charges more for 50 cal (he doesn't offer 68 cal anymore, leaving that for his competitors to offer) and his customer base doubled in about a year even though it's more expensive than the 68 counterpart at competing fields.